Mini-Tour – Day 2 – Sunday

I slept in until 8:00am on Sunday. I needed the rest. Michael, Sarah, and I went out for breakfast. The skies were gloomy and it started raining at some point in the morning. I was enjoying being lazy, so it was around noon before I departed on the second leg of my trip. Michael wanted to go out for a ride, and tagged along with me for the first 30 miles or so.

My route for Sunday was planned for 80 miles. I did ride the planned route. I modified the GPS track below slightly for Michael’s privacy.

By the time we left his house, the rain had stopped and skies were clearing. While riding through Bloomington, I noticed that the city is trying to be bike-friendly. There are bike paths, bike lanes, and these traffic calming devices.

Of course after stopping to take a picture of the traffic calming device, while trying to get my heavy-ass bike moving, I managed to run into the curb. I didn’t fall, it was just embarrassing.

We worked our way northeast through Hindustan and into Morgan-Monroe State Forest.

Michael was enjoying the ride.

At some point during the ride I noticed we were making good time as long as we weren’t climbing a steep hill. It was a tailwind. Much better than Saturday’s headwind.

Rural Indiana has a lot to offer…. or not. 🙂

Michael and I rolled into Martinsville and stopped for more water and snacks. We were 30 miles in, which meant we were to part ways. I continued north, Michael headed west.

A few miles north of Martinsville there was this imposing coal-fueled power plant. The amount of coal piled up on the grounds was staggering.

Before long I was crossing the White River.

After a long flattish stretch that included Martinsville, I knew there would be more climbing.

The climb was up Goat Hollow Rd which once at the top was just a meandering ridge top road. I never did see a goat though.

A few miles later I did see several sheep. Come back here! I need some new wool socks!

I rode through Mooresville, but didn’t stop anywhere. I was making good time, but due to my late start was worried about how late I’d be getting to the hotel. In Plainfield I was getting hungry and noticed Buzz’s Pizza. They served up a decent stromboli, which I ate on a bench outdoors before continuing on.

After Plainfield it mostly became suburban hell. Luckily, being Sunday, traffic wasn’t too bad. The multi-lane high-speed US36 wasn’t the most pleasant, but I did have an interesting conversation with a young mother and her daughter about where I rode from and where I was riding to. The little girl was fascinated. Surprisingly I had no yelling or honking motorists the whole way.

Once I got inside the I-465 loop there was a bit of city traffic, but people appeared to be used to bicyclists. I passed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

As I approached downtown, I really began to appreciate downtown in Louisville. Downtown Indianapolis is harder to navigate and the roads are in poor condition. Also, for some reason, the city bus drivers are maniacs.

I eventually found my hotel and checked in. The biggest problem there was that the tiny elevator would not accommodate my bike unless I stood it on end. That was not an easy task with the weight I was carrying.

@Tim: The transition is real, but sometimes it’s sudden, and sometimes it’s gradual. Also, one road that should have been empty (middle of nowhere) was high-traffic. It’s hard to know without being from the area.